The Bridge

badp

11:01 PM

VVVVVVV dropped from the US 3DS eShop

a.k.a. if you have it already you can jailbreak your console?

oh. nevermind.

it's a case of arbitrary code execution leading to arbitrary code execution

bwDraco

Not too happy with how Assassin's Creed is changing.

GodEmperorDune

@bwDraco how so?

bwDraco

Unity was been disastrous at launch, while Syndicate deviates too much with the game mechanics.

Tim Stone

But the zip line is so much fun! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

bwDraco

I'm also not a fan of the microtransactions (though Syndicate seems to have made it less of an issue).

GodEmperorDune

11:05 PM

@bwDraco microtransactions? i thought it was a paid game?

Tim Stone

They added stuff you could pay for as time-savers

But you can ultimately get it all by playing the game, too

murgatroid99

@GodEmperorDune those aren't really mutually exclusive

GodEmperorDune

@TimStone oh ubi

@murgatroid99 it should be, but that's a different discussion

bwDraco

@GodEmperorDune Unity introduced microtransactions. They were adjusted in Syndicate to be less problematic (Syndicate's progression schedule is not much slower than AC4 or earlier from what I can tell).

Tim Stone

Syndicate does have a lot of technical quirks though even if I liked the game itself

bwDraco

11:07 PM

Unity had slower progression, though, which tended to favor MTX. It's mostly a non-issue with Syndicate, though it still feels like a cash grab.

Tim Stone

Like the time Duleep Singh couldn't find his way off the train for five minutes and the game was just stuck there

bwDraco

(Haven't played either but that seems to be what people were saying.)

GodEmperorDune

> oh no, your hidden blades jammed. Please wait 6 hours, watch this ad, or pay $1 to unjam them

badp

apparently it's a bad idea to parse XML ~~with regular expressions~~

murgatroid99

@GodEmperorDune I don't know. Halo 5 has significant microtransactions, but they're all either cosmetic or you can earn them through gameplay (and mostly both)

badp

11:09 PM

XML, the good parts.

The end.

bwDraco

The problem is that most users will not buy a game if it's $70 at launch.

badp

as if

murgatroid99

@badp XML doesn't really seem to be the problem there

bwDraco

Budgets are higher than ever while people have not been more willing to pay more than $60 for the base game.

GodEmperorDune

@bwDraco that's a DLC argument, not microtransactions

murgatroid99

11:10 PM

It seems more like it's standard buffer overflow vulnerabilities: loading an array into fixed size memory without checking the length

badp

@bwDraco plenty of games sell for much higher than that, it's just under the disguise of season passes or collector's editions

GodEmperorDune

@bwDraco then price it how much it costs to make and adjust your budget accordingly

badp

or alternatively adjust your game budget downwards?

bwDraco

@badp yup.

badp

that said I never was a fan of Assassin's Creed

Dragonrage

11:13 PM

@badp needs more ranged weapons

badp

easily @TimStone's guiltiest pleasure

GodEmperorDune

i like assassin's creed but they push them out way too fast

Tim Stone

The one thing that makes me have hope for the next AC game is that it's not coming out this year

GodEmperorDune

do we need to have one a year?

Tim Stone

@badp So guiltiest

bwDraco

11:13 PM

There's a huge amount of inertia with raising the base price of games.

badp

@GodEmperorDune of course

@bwDraco but it's not like it hasn't been happening, people just lower the bar for "base game"

bwDraco

Bump it to even $65 and you lose a large portion of your audience. Make it $70, and you've probably lost a majority of customers.

GodEmperorDune

@bwDraco i remember the $50 to $60 jump

badp

but I don't really think it's quite as dire as you put it

Tim Stone

@GodEmperorDune This year we get the movie instead of a game, so we'll see how that goes

badp

11:15 PM

otherwise everybody would be selling even less of a game for $50

Dragonrage

i wish AC had like more uses for a bow. i like bows

GodEmperorDune

@TimStone :/

Dragonrage

which is why i like skyrim

GodEmperorDune

@Dragonrage AC3 had a bow

badp

anyway I guess I'm unfazed since I've literally never spent $60 for a single game

Dragonrage

11:16 PM

because stealth archer is op

bwDraco

The episodic approach that some (e.g. Telltale Games) have taken may be a more viable solution.

GodEmperorDune

@Dragonrage archer is op. cc @uni

Tim Stone

I've made much worse decisions than spending $60 on any particular game I've bought, like spending the amount of money I did on the Star Citizen kickstarter

Dragonrage

@GodEmperorDune needs more bows

Tim Stone

blames Origami Robot, RIP in peace & pieces

bwDraco

11:17 PM

The most I've spent on a game was for just short of $90 for AC4 Digital Gold Edition and most (but not all) DLCs (Steam, with Uplay activation).

badp

@TimStone what's a couple thousand dollars to the leet leet loot that you'll get

Dragonrage

@TimStone rest in peace in peace & pieces

badp

meanwhile my Intel GPU drivers are all sorts of unhappy

crashing about once a minute

I think my record is Portal 2 at launch, ~€30

bwDraco

Can attest to this. I have an application that can cause the Intel drivers to trigger a BSOD repeatably.

badp

where the hell do you get intel "gpu" driver updates?

bwDraco

11:19 PM

@badp downloadcenter.intel.com

badp

gotta install the installer

classic Intel

Tim Stone

@badp Not that much, thank god

bwDraco

I kinda like how AC4 has a companion app that lets you use your tablet as a second screen.

I'll probably be back later tonight to show you.

badp

...

bwDraco

play.google.com/store/apps/…

Tim Stone

11:22 PM

Unity had a companion app too but the UPlay servers are horrible. They also launched that reworked Initiates site, which, er, didn't work

badp

Tim Stone

Then shut that down even though the original form was really cool

badp

. . .

bwDraco

I have not had any issues with Uplay servers.

GodEmperorDune

@badp i also bought portal 2 at launch

user15026

11:23 PM

@bwDraco I hate that as a thing.

bwDraco

Also a huge fan of how they made Edward a pirate on the high seas. They did a fantastic job of combining traditional Assassin's Creed "infiltrate-assassinate-escape" gameplay with the expanded naval exploration and combat.

GodEmperorDune

@bwDraco maybe the assassin's creed games wouldn't be so expensive if they didn't throw in all these crazy minigames

Lazers 2.0

0

Q: How to power up a Super Famicom in the US

Today, on eBay, I bought myself a Super Famicom for $23.80 shipped, coming from Japan. It's pretty dirty and the case has turned yellow from oxidation, but I thought it was pretty cool and intend on restoring it. Though I have every home Nintendo console for the North American market, this is the...

two bugs

Dammit. I'm gonna need a bookshelf for my growing manga collection

user15026

I am pro anything where people need space for more books :)

Dragonrage

11:32 PM

@AshleyNunn how about needing more books?

murgatroid99

I never need more space for books because I only buy Kindle books

user15026

That is also a thing :)

user15026

@murgatroid99 Yeah, this is me now, except non-Kindle

user15026

ebooks have saved me on shelf space :)

user15026

Its actually weird feeling when I read a paper book now

GodEmperorDune

11:34 PM

@AshleyNunn but paper books have the smell

two bugs

Ahahahaha I love Starwipe

GodEmperorDune

can your kindle replicate the aged book smell?

user15026

@GodEmperorDune I've never been a huge book smeller

GodEmperorDune

@AshleyNunn your loss

Dragonrage

the book i was thinking of may be sea of trolls. cc @AshleyNunn @Wipqozn @Frank

GodEmperorDune

11:35 PM

> this news will come as an extra shock to all the men who downloaded the mobile app Game Of War: Fire Age based on the implied agreement that, if they played enough of it, they would eventually get to marry Kate Upton, who famously appeared in the app’s TV spots and inescapable social media advertisements.

@Dragonrage irony of ironys

@twobugs yeah this article is hilarious

Dragonrage

and no it is not about the bridge

though we could probably accurately rename this room as Sea of Trolls

where @AshleyNunn is the sole island of sanity

user15026

@GodEmperorDune That part cracked me up because literally all I know about her is she's in those ads. I didn't know her name til I read the article

Lazers 2.0

0

Q: Is map refreshing instantly when destroying altar?

In hardmode, when the player destroys an altar, new ores appear. As explained on the wiki, Each destroyed Altar causes one type of Hardmode ore to appear in the world First Altar: Cobalt Ore or Palladium Ore, chosen randomly. Second Altar: Mythril Ore or Orichalcum Ore, chosen rando...

terraria

-1

Q: What do commendation points do?

At the end of the match I am presented with 4 players to pick to commend. Exactly what does it mean when I commend someone, and what are the benefits of commending someone? Is there a special stat or something in the profile page or something bonus you get if you are the one with the most commen...

overwatch

two bugs

Sometimes Starwipe kind of misses the point and is just sad, though

Like this

Oh no... they're attending an award show? Who cares that it isn't the real emmys or whatever?

bwDraco

They tightened up the stealth system. There's clearer indication of caution states (you get a yellow caution indicator), and the SSI colors now serve a different purpose (red if they see you, yellow if they don't). The SSI will flash if it fills halfway, indicating that they're actively investigating rather than having just seen something suspicious; this is unlike older AC games where it fills from yellow when suspicious then to red when investigating.

If the SSI fills completely or it is obvious that you killed an enemy, then you get an alert.

GodEmperorDune

11:43 PM

@bwDraco shouldn't it be green if you kill someone and no one sees it?

bwDraco

No, that's only in a hiding area (and not in AC4).

There's no invisible or evasion state indication in AC4 (which used to be indicated as green and cyan, respectively).

ChromeSlice

I need a shape that will let me reach up high enough to get the thing

without falling off the two anchors

bwDraco

If you're evading after an alert, there's no more separate evasion state; it just drops back to a caution.

GodEmperorDune

@ChromeSlice something phallic?

ChromeSlice

Doesn't work

okay so apparently the trick was to try one more time and alt tab out while the bug just flies into it on its own

badp

11:49 PM

@ChromeSlice Wins By Doing Absolutely Nothing

ChromeSlice

waitno

Well, I did manage to reach higher than any previous attempt as well

two bugs

@badp "A strange game, the only winning move is to not play" - ChromeSlice, 2016

ChromeSlice

aw, the steam profile backgrounds for Mushroom 11 are all lame

GodEmperorDune

@ChromeSlice behold the phallic power!

ChromeSlice

@twobugs "a strange game"

two bugs

11:50 PM

Is it really

ChromeSlice

Yes

WarGames - "The Only Winning Move"

►

user15026

The benefit to me discovering the world of indie published romance novels - just got 6 books, spent less than $10.

two bugs

@AshleyNunn Apparently some people make $$$$ doing this. It's an interesting micro-economy

GodEmperorDune

@AshleyNunn is that the genre that 50 shades started as?

user15026

@twobugs I've been talking to a bunch of indie romance authors on twitter - and I've ended up with some good books out of it. :) (Although there are also some weird ones, like the weird cyborg romance novel that was just horribly written)

ChromeSlice

11:52 PM

wtf

I have to hit all the purple things at the same time

user15026

@GodEmperorDune I thought it was fanfic, but I have no idea if she published indie first - I don't pay much attention to it

user15026

And I also feel less bad if the book was 99 cents and it sucked

GodEmperorDune

@AshleyNunn all i know is it was some sort of amateur thing, probably you're right

user15026

(which happens less often than you'd think. I've gotten good at vetting things.)

GodEmperorDune

@AshleyNunn except for the cyborg romance...

user15026

11:54 PM

(although the cyborg romance was really, really bad. And not bad in a good way. Just bad.)

user15026

@GodEmperorDune that one I kinda expected to be terrible but I was just so curious. Like rubbernecking a car crash curious.

badp

All Mario Party's - Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing (1-9, DS, 3DS)

►

GodEmperorDune

@AshleyNunn LOVE: DOES NOT COMPUTE

badp

I'm assuming you're awawre

ChromeSlice

gross

GodEmperorDune

11:55 PM

@ChromeSlice this is a weird game

user15026

@GodEmperorDune The cyborgs were like mass produced fighting machines who didn't get ladies and couldn't make babies but then one FELL IN LOVE WITH THE ONLY LADY ENGINEER

ChromeSlice

Very weird game

user15026

and then MAGICALLY SHE COULD CARRY CYBORG BABIES

ChromeSlice

Loving it though

user15026

though no other lady ever could.

GodEmperorDune

11:56 PM

@AshleyNunn why was there only one lady engineer?

bwDraco

Not a fan of the new weapon selector, though.

GodEmperorDune

@AshleyNunn and wat

ChromeSlice

@AshleyNunn Haha, sounds like Upside Down

user15026

@GodEmperorDune Because ladies just didn't DO that. And she did and all the men hated her and beat her up (literally) for it

GodEmperorDune

@AshleyNunn ouch what a terrible message

user15026

11:57 PM

But she persevered and fell in love with the cyborg she was assigned to take care of and fix and she was kind and gentle unlike EVERYONE ELSE EVER and then there were babies

FaceSavouringDeliciousFood-Pig

So women who become engineers will always become pregnant from cyborgs? seems legit

Actually this might explain some of the Matrix

user15026

and an escape to a cyborg-only planet who were so against people and things they didn't allow anything else there (they killed a houseplant some cyborg brought) but this lady was SO special because she could carry cyborg babies so she got to stay

FaceSavouringDeliciousFood-Pig

@AshleyNunn mind=boggles

bwDraco

Edward carries two swords and up to four pistols, which is really cool. Reloading is also faster.

user15026

@FaceSavouringDeliciousFood-Pig It was only 99 cents, so no regrets :P

GodEmperorDune

11:59 PM

@AshleyNunn i mean a magical half-cyborg uterus is cool, but does it really have to be the source of her powers

maybe not even cool but yeah

it should not be her main redeeming quality

FaceSavouringDeliciousFood-Pig

@GodEmperorDune well when you put it like that :^)

user15026

@GodEmperorDune Thing was she was just a normal lady but magically she could carry cyborg babies in her normal lady uterus even though no one else could because the power of love or something

bwDraco

blog.ubi.com/…

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